Featured affiliated academy: Shogun Panamá BJJ
Where is the gym located?
The gym is located on Via Ricardo J. Alfaro, Plaza Belair (second floor), La Alameda in Panama City. We’re located right in the middle of the capital city on one of the main avenues, easily accessible by local bus or taxi.
How many people train there?
We are around 50 people between Jiu Jitsu, kickboxing, and kids classes.
Is the gym growing – if so by how many new members each month or year?
We have a few people coming in every month to try our classes. I would say it is never enough, but the numbers are always steady, so that’s important for us.
What are the highest and lowest belt grades training?
We currently have 6 black belts in the gym, all active, and lower belts would be from our kids class. In between we have colored belts of all ranks between the women and men currently training with us.
When did the gym open?
The gym officially opened back in 2015.
Some facts about you:
Name: Stephen Martinez
Academy: Shogun Panamá BJJ
Age: 46
Belt: Black belt first degree
Profession: Hotelier
Years in BJJ: I have been training since 2000
Other martial arts: Nothing serious, but at one point or another I’ve trained
wrestling, kickboxing, and judo to complement my Jiu Jitsu.
Currently living in: Panama City, Panama
Originally from: Born and raised in Panama
Please tell us the story of how your gym came into existence
The gym owner – Ivan Quintanar, currently a black belt first degree – started training back in 2003 under the first official school in the country, Gracie Barra Panama. Later in 2009, together with some members from Gracie Barra Panama, they decided to open a new independent school named Spartan Jiu-Jitsu.
From 2009 to 2015, Spartan Jiu-Jitsu was one of the biggest and stronger academies in the country, but sadly the same year 2015 the academy closed and later on he opened Shogun Panama.
Tell us about the people that train in the gym – who are they?
I’m very proud to say we have an amazing crew of people training with us. Also I’m proud of the fact that we try to keep an open space for everyone who likes to train Jiu Jitsu or kickboxing, regardless of what exactly are your goals. Most members are local people who just like to come in and train, as well as competitors that train intensively for local and international competitions. We are very well balanced between adult females and males, both in kickboxing and Jiu Jitsu, as well as in the Jiu Jitsu classes for kids.
More importantly to us, we are not a commercial gym. We are open to everyone regardless of profession or economic status. We try to aim for people to come in, have fun, learn martial arts, and get value out of martial arts and training.
Shogun Panamá BJJ
Why do they train?
Everyone has different goals when they walk into a gym. We try to keep an open mind regarding your goals and what exactly you are looking to get from training.
We have people who train just for hobby or fitness. We have people who want to compete locally and internationally. We have a little bit of both, and we have a place and time for everyone.
What are some of the challenges of running a BJJ gym in general and in your location specifically?
We are first and foremost a passion project. Nobody is getting rich here from teaching Jiu Jitsu or running a gym, but then we need to take into consideration bills to pay to keep the place running, so it’s like a catch-22 kind of situation. However, we try to keep going and look for solutions to such problems along the way. Due to the country’s economy, we try to keep prices accessible to everyone. Still with all that, we face the same problems just like every other gym around the world. We have people coming in and training for a while, we have permanent people who no matter what will come to train, and we have people who eventually quit and leave because something else shows up in life.
As an instructor this can be a little frustrating, because you invest time in teaching someone and sometimes people don’t appreciate that the same way you do, but eventually with time to learn to accept not everyone is meant to stay with you forever. Also, you learn to understand there are other important things to do in life – so just go ahead and take it as it is.
We try to make sure that no matter what, you know the mat will be there always waiting for you, whether you decide to come back or not.
Shogun Panamá BJJ
How do you see the future for BJJ in your area?
It’s been roughly 20 years since the first group of people started training grappling and BJJ in Panama.
I think is growing up, slowly but steadily. We have been fortunate to host IBJJF and UAEJJF events in the country, something that I believe is big for us for being such a small country. Locally, we have tournaments and different gyms besides us, so we have a big community here of people training Jiu Jitsu.
At least for us, sometimes it picks up in popularity or sometimes it gets more steady, but never slow.
What’s the best thing about your gym?
I believe, more than anything, that we have built a good foundation where we try to make everyone feel welcome and we don’t force you to do anything you don’t want. Whether you just want to train for a hobby or competition, we don’t care. We will support you the same way.
Also, I believe we have created an infrastructure where we don’t follow any specific team flags or creeds. We have been associated at some point or another with great people or teams, but at the end of the day we are the ones running the place, teaching classes, and making sure we take care of everyone. While the ugly side of the business always shows its head (bills), we always want everyone to feel like coming to train is like going to a get-together with your friends, rather than a chore.
What would you recommend Globetrotters to see in your area apart from the inside of your gym?
Please don’t come to the country only to see the Panama canal! Jokes aside, Panama is a nice place to visit. We are small in size, but we’re fortunate to have easy access to both the Pacific and Caribbean oceans in case you like the beach. Also we are a multicultural country with great food, both local and international. We have great natural spots to visit and discover. Nightlife is vibrant. Our shopping area is one of the best in the region, and people in general are very friendly
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